Handicapper's Corner: 2024 Woobine Mile (G1)

 Rockin' the Woodbine Mile

By: Nick Costa,

Hello again folks, we are in mid-September and the road to the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is picking up momentum. The focus for this upcoming weekend spotlights Woodbine in Toronto, which will host three Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” races on Saturday.

The marquee event, and the race we will cover here is the $1 million Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, which offers the winner a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.  Two other events, the $500,000 Summer Stakes and the $500,000 Natalma Stakes offer “Win and You’re In’ offer berths to the Juvenile Turf and Juvenile Fillies Turf, respectively. The 41^st annual Breeders’ Cup will be held this year on November 1^st and November 2^nd at Del Mar Racetrack.

A field of eight enter the gate for the Mile to do battle on the famed E.P. Taylor turf course. Post time for the Woodbine Mile is set for 6:16 p.m.

Morning line favorite, NAVAL POWER, gives owner Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby a good chance to win their third consecutive Woodbine Mile, while Mark Casse, a 16-time Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s outstanding trainer and a two-time winner of the Mile, will be well represented in the race with three entries, including FILO Di ARIANNA, recent winner of the G2 King Edward Stakes over this turf course.

ANALYSIS:

2 - NAVAL POWER, a winner of 6 of 9 races, last raced on Kentucky Derby Day when second, beaten a head in the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. Prior to that, he was defeated by stablemate, Master of the Seas, winner of the Woodbine Mile last year, on a yielding turf course at Keeneland in the G1 Makers Mark. His last two efforts make him the one to beat.

4 - BIG ROCK makes his North American debut and adds a European touch to the Mile. Last year, after three consecutive runner-up finishes in Group 1 events, he won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the richest mile race in Europe at Royal Ascot over soft ground. His form this season has been below its best, but this lineup isn’t nowhere as strong as the competition he has faced over the last year. Gets equipped with blinkers which should help keep him better focused, which he’s had trouble doing this season. He cannot be counted out.

5 - FILO DI ARIANNA is a multiple G2 winner who enters the mile on a two-race winning streak, with his latest score in the King Edward Stakes. He’s been in the money in 3 of 4 starts at the distance. His 2 for 2 resume over this turf course must be respected, as well as his four stakes wins at Woodbine.

8 - MY BOY PRINCE looked like he was going to win the King’s Plate until he was passed late by the winner. The lone 3-year-old in the field is in excellent form. He had a win over this turf course last year and was also third in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. He should be forwardly placed, and his good early speed should keep him in the mix.

WAGER:

Our mythical $100 ThoroFan dollars will be bet in the following ways.

$25 Win - Big Rock

$15 Exacta Box – Big Rock-Naval Power

$10 Exactas – Big Rock & Naval Power over Filo Di Arianna

$1 Trifecta Box – Big Rock – Naval Power – Filo Di Arianna – My Boy Prince – ($24)

Good luck and as always, enjoy the race!